Bedspring



Dec. 9, 1941. k

TUCKER 5 IBEDSPRING Filed Jan. 21, 1941 INVENTOR Mom/J 756KB;

.6 BY F; V RNEY Patented Dec. 9, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BEDSPRING Morris Tucker, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application J amlary 21, 1941, Serial No. 375,132

5 Claims.

This invention relates to bed springs, and more particularly to that type of spring wherein the horizontal mattress supporting surface comprises a metallic fabric formed from links, cables, wire mesh, or the like.

Springs of this type are ordinarily supported between two rigid unyielding end members, but due to the necessity for providing a yielding support along the sides of the spring no such members may be employed thereat. In lieu thereof it has been the practice to provide reinforcing strips at the longitudinal edges of the spring. During normal use, however, said strips and the adjoining edges of the metallic fabric sag appreciably, due to the give of the fabric, and thus cause a bed to become unsightly, noisy and uncomfortable.

To overcome these disadvantages, it has previously been proposed to resiliently urge upwardly the reinforcing strips positioned at the side edges of the metallic fabric by means of any on of several mechanical linkages, usually including a system of levers pivoted on various fixed points in the spring. However, such constructions are relatively expensive and become inoperable in use due to binding of the lever pivot points with rust or dirt, or due to misuse.

In accordance with my invention, therefore, I have provided a unique means for supporting the side edges of a bed spring of the character described, so as to prevent undue sagging thereof, and which overcomes the defects inherent in the complex mechanical linkage systems heretofore employed for this purpose.

Another object of my invention is to provide in a bed spring of the character described sagpreventing means which comprises few and simple parts, and which shall be economical to manufacture, rugged in construction and highly eflicient for the purposes set forth.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and inpart hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplifled in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing, in which are shown various possible embodiments of this invention,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a bed spring constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2' is an enlarged side elevational view thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a corner of said spring;

Fig. 4 is an end view thereof;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view illustrating the novel means employed to prevent sagging of the longitudinal edges of the bed spring; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side view of a modified form of my invention.

In general, I carry out my invention by suspending or hanging each end of a longitudinal rigid reinforcing member, attached to a side of the metallic fabric, on a spring which depends from a rigid transverse supporting member. The spring employed is preferably of helical shape, such. as is commonly used at the ends of a bed spring of this character, and is so disposed that its longitudinal axis has a substantial vertical component.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, I0 is a bed spring of the type with which my invention may be employed and comprises a flat horizontal upper mattress supporting surface H formed from a metallic fabric, such as for example the links shown in Figs. 1 and 3. If desired, any other type of well known metallic fab ric, such as for example, wire mesh or cable spring, may be employed to form the said surface ll without departing from the spirit of my invention.

The supporting frame comprises a pair of elongated rigid members I2 which may take the form of hollow oval-shaped tubes adapted to be supported in the usual sockets provided for this purpose on a bed frame. The longitudinal members l2 are interconnected by means of cast brackets 13 having socket portions l4 in which the ends of the hollow members l2 are received and permanently fixed. Extending angularly upward from each socket M is a leg portion l5 having firmly attached to its upper end, as by means of rivets iii. an L-shaped channel member H which joins opposite brackets I3.

The ends of the metallic fabric comprising the top surface I! of the spring are attached to the horizontal legs Ha of the channels 11 by means of a plurality of close-coiled, parallelly disposed, helical springs I8, said springs havingone set of ends disposed in the loops IQ of the link fabric and the other ends in apertures 20 provided in the horizontal leg Ila.

When mounting the supporting surface II, th springs l8 are tensioned in the usual manner so as to maintain the metallic fabric l I under tension longitudinally of the bed spring.

It will be observed that up to this point I have described a bed spring which is characteristic of the type under consideration, and it will be apparent as the description proceeds that other springs of this general nature may be employed with my invention.

To the longitudinal side edges of the metallic fabric II I attach, as by means of a plurality of Wire clips 2|, a rigid rail 22 of the same general L-shape as the channel member H, the horizontal leg 22a of the said rail being in substantially the same plane as the horizontal leg Ila of the metallic fabric II. The ends of the rails 22 are resiliently supported from the horizontal channel members IT in the same manner as the ends of V the metallic fabric II, by close-coiled, helical springs 23 which are similarly tensioned between the legs Ila and the ends of the side rails 22.

In accordance with my invention I- provide a highly simplified means for resiliently suspending the rigid longitudinal rails 22 from the transverse channels I! in such manner as to prevent undue sagging of the side edges of the bed spring. Such means comprises an extension projecting outwardly and downwardly from both ends of the rails 22 and having a portion which is generally below and substantially under the horizontal leg Ila of the channel I In the preferred form of my invention, said extension comprises a flat strip 24 having a pair of angularly disposed legs 25 and 26, one of which 25 is juxtaposed and riveted to the vertical leg 22b of a rail 22 adjacent an end thereof. The other leg 26 is suspended from the horizontal leg portion l'la by a helical'spring 2'! whose longitudinal axis has a substantial vertical component, as may be clearly seen in Figs. 2 and 5. The upper end of said spring is attached to the leg Ila by means of a hook 28 passing through an aperture 29 in the said leg, and the lower end of said spring 21 is attached by a similar hook 30 to the leg 26 passing through an aperture 3| at the end thereof.

Similar springs 21 are provided on each end of both rigid rails 22. It will be seen that in this manner the rigid rails which define the longitudinal side edges of the bed spring are resiliently suspended in an exceedingly simple manner from the rigid transverse supports at the head and foot of the said bed spring; so that when a weight is applied to the side edge of the metallic fabric II, as by a person sitting on the edge, of a bed, this weight will be distributed and assimilated between and by the substantially vertically disposed helical springs 21, which suspend the rail 22 on which the person is sitting. As soon as the weight is removed the rails 22 will be immediately resiliently urged back to their normal position with the horizontal leg 22a lying in the plane of the metallic fabric II.

' If desired, instead of providing a'separate ex-' tension member 24 attached to the side rail 22,1 may, as shown in the modified form of my invention illustrated in Fig. 6, bend the two ends of thesaid rail 22. This may be accomplished by cutting out a V notch in the vertical leg 22b of the rail 22 and then bending the horizontal leg 22a of said rail until the two edges of the notch meet, as indicated at 35. These edges may then be welded and a hole 36, similar to the hole 3|, provided at the end of the rail to receive the hook 30 of the vertical coil spring 21, asshown in the first form of my invention. i

Itwill thus be seen that there is provided a device inwhich the several object of this invenfabric.

tion are achieved, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth, it is to be understood that all means interconnecting said fabric and said members to resiliently tension said fabric between said members, the combination of a pair of rigid rails attached to the side edges of said fabric and defining the longitudinal edges of said spring, said rails having a horizontal web substantially in the plane of said metallic fabric, means to interconnect said rails adjacentthe' ends thereof to said supporting memberstcifresiliently tension said rails between saidsupp'orting members, and means to resiliently suspend said rails from said supporting members, the portions of said rails with which said suspension means is associated being disposed below the plane of said fabric.

2. In a bed spring having a flat horizontal mattress supporting'surface comprising'a metallic fabric, rigid supporting members for the head and foot ends of said fabric, said members being disposed in the plane of said fabric and means interconnecting said fabric and said members to resiliently tension said fabric between said members, the combination of a pair of rigid rails attached to the side edges of said fabric and defining the longitudinal edges of said spring, said rails having a horizontal web substantially in the plane of said metallic fabric, means to interconnect said rails adjacent the ends thereof to said supporting members to resiliently tension said railsbetween said supporting members, and means to resilientlysuspend said rails-from said supporting members, said last named meanscomprising a spring so disposed as to have a sub-' stantial vertical component, the portions of said rails with which said'suspension means 'is associated being disposed below the plane of's'aid 3. In a bed spring having a flat horizontal mattress supporting surface comprising a metallic fabric, rigid supporting members for the head" and foot ends of said fabric, said members be-' ing disposed in the plane of saidfabric and means interconnecting said fabric and said members to resiliently tension'said fabric between said members, the combination of a pair of rigid rails attached to'the side edges of saidfabric and defining thelongitudinal edges of said spring, said rails having a horizontal web substantially in the plane of said metallic fab ric, horizontally disposed means to interconnect said rails adjacent porting members to resiliently tension said rails between said supporting members, the ends, of

said rails being disposed substantially below. the.

plane of said fabric, and means to resiliently suspend said rails from said supporting members, said means including a. spring-interconnecting the end of said rail to said supporting the ends thereof tosaid'sup-g member, said spring being so disposed as to have a substantial vertical component.

4. In a bed spring having a flat horizontal mattress supporting surface comprising a metallic fabric, rigid supporting members for the head and foot ends of said fabric, said members being disposed in the plane of said fabric and. means interconnecting said fabric and said members to resiliently tension said fabric between said members, the combination of a pair of rigid rails attached to the side edges of said metallic fabric and defining the longitudinal edges of said bed spring, said rails having a horizontal web substantially in the plane of said metallic fabric and disposed between said head and foot end supporting members, means to interconnect said rails adjacent the ends thereof to said supporting members to resiliently tension said rails between said supporting members, an extension member rigidly attached to each of the ends of said rails, the free end of said extension members being disposed substantially under said supporting members, and a spring interconnecting said supporting members and the free end of each of said extension members.

5. In a bed spring as set forth in claim 1, wherein the portions of said rails with which said suspension means is associated are the ends of the rails and wherein said means for resiliently tensionin-g said rails between said supporting member is horizontally disposed, suspension means for each end of each of the rails consisting of a spring so disposed as to have a substantial vertical component, the upper end of said spring depending from the supporting member at the head or foot of the spring, the end of said rail being hung from the other end of said spring.

MORRIS TUCKER. 

